Did you know that Cornwall’s creative industries are thriving? Along with our booming arts, culture & heritage scene, there is a rapidly growing screen & digital sector. Cornwall offers young people a wealth of entry-level creative jobs in sectors like heritage, fashion, marketing, music, games, software and more.
New Creatives Cornwall brings together all the information you’ll need to start researching and putting into action your own creative career. Check out the videos and resources below, our Insta and Tiktok content from young people already working in the sector and – coming soon – details of potential pathways, industry events and work experience opportunities that will help you build your CV and networks. Finally our Partners page is a great place to start understanding which larger organisations are part of the creative and digital landscape in Cornwall.
Image Credits: 1. Tropical Pressure, 2. Kirsten Prisk, 3. Falmouth University Games Academy.
The creative industries in the UK encompasses everything from the Arts to Artificial Intelligence. A quarter of UK businesses are in this sector, and are among the fastest growing of our economy as well as flying the flag internationally in both cultural and commercial realms.
Click on each sub-sector to check out some more details and access resources that will help you find out more about starting your career.
Image credit: Eden Project
The theatre & dance scene in Cornwall is thriving, with a diverse mix of companies and individuals driving exciting new work and opportunities for careers in performance, technical support and production.
From Hall for Cornwall’s programme of high quality national and international shows, youth theatre and dance groups and schools outreach to other larger companies such as landscape theatre specialists Wildworks, outdoor touring company Miracle Theatre and the iconic Minack theatre, there is also a rich mix of smaller companies across the region.
Image credit: St Just Ordinalia
Music career opportunities in Cornwall are many and diverse, from event planning and management for festivals, sound and light engineering for concerts and shows, music production in studios, instrumental teaching, creating music for film and games to performing at one of Cornwall’s many venues.
All of these careers will require potential entrants to undertake further study to at least FE level and there are specialist courses available at local colleges and universities.
Image credit: Minko / Cultivator
The screen sector in Cornwall offers opportunities for freelance work as technical, craft or production crew on incoming or indigenous productions, as well as a number of talent development schemes and commissions for writers, directors and producers.
Film & TV is a thriving sector UK wide providing pathways for drama, documentary or immersive content production.
Image credit: Mermaids/BFI NETWORK
Community arts activities in Cornwall ensure a rich cultural offer that brings people together, challenges social inequality and boosts inclusion, health and well-being. Through grant-giving and events programmes, the sector enables communities to live creatively, be kind to each other and the planet, and grow in cultural confidence. Community arts build social fabric, bringing people together to share experience and decision-making, develop a pride of place, and encourage whole community involvement. The sector develops projects and activities that focus on the creativity, well-being and emotional resilience as well as the potential of young people.
Image credit: Steve Tanner, Behind the Postcard
There are a wide range of writers in Cornwall, from those creating children’s books to novelists, copywriters to magazine publishers, spoken word artists to scriptwriters. With a number of thriving literary festivals and networks designed to connect writers to each other, the support is there to develop your craft.
A great place to start discovering opportunities in this space is the Writer’s Block in Redruth where there are many open programmes and events around words and language and to help discover professional opportunities.
Image credit: Sprout Spoken, Behind the Postcard
Museums, galleries and heritage sites provide a wealth of exciting careers; from traditional roles like curators or conservationists, through to innovative practice embedding new technology – there’s something for everyone! It takes a whole team to make the museum – behind the scenes you can find marketing, volunteering, evaluation, management and more, while front-of-house provides the warm welcome and face-to-face expertise the public rely on. Fundraising for exciting projects challenges expectations and improves experiences, social media management shares the message, and historic buildings and sites need caring for as well as the collections and archives – find out what’s in it for you.
Image credit: Kerdroya, Golden Tree Productions
Cornwall is the fastest growing tech cluster in the South West, with a range of tech companies that are connected through the sector organisation Software Cornwall. As well as running work experience and a jobs board, they also hold regular tech connect events to explore new developments in the industry, as well as industry leading conference Agile on the Beach.
Games is another strong area of development, with Cornwall Games providing an informal network for freelance games developers and companies.
Image credit: Falmouth University Games Academy
Architecture & Design span a wide range of disciplines, from digital design through to product design, anything that creates a solution to a challenge or improves the way we go about our lives and how we communicate. Cornwall has a specialism in sustainable design, with many companies having circular and carbon neutral approaches at the heart of their practice as well as the highest proportion of B corps in the UK outside London.
Image credit: Lucy Innes Williams / Cultivator
The visual arts sector in Cornwall is thriving and varied, from established organisations, such as Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, to CICs and smaller artist-led initiatives, presenting contemporary art projects and exhibitions across a wide variety of media. Most institutions have an outreach programme working closely with schools in the region to provide opportunities for students through work experience or participatory projects.
Job roles across the visual arts sector are equally varied and range from curating and exhibition & programme planning to community engagement and visitor experience, in addition to technician roles, marketing, catering and event planning.
Image credit: John Hersey – in Studio of Stuart Robinson
Fashion covers a wide range of areas, from top brands such as Finisterre and Seasalt to specialist small designers.
Marketing and advertising brings together a huge range of skills to communicate and showcase products, ideas and services. Marketing teams in Cornwall tend to be small, enabling you to develop a range of expertise which could include copywriting, photography, filmmaking, and design. In marketing roles you will create exciting content to connect directly with your clients, from TikTok campaigns to printed brochures, it’s about finding the right way to speak to your audience.
Image Credit: Cornwall 365
We are delighted to offer 8 x Year 10 or 12 students the opportunity for a project-based work experience creating content for the Council’s New Creatives Cornwall campaign. Monday 8th July – Friday 12th July 2024 09:30 – 15:00 …
Where the region’s creative industries come together to provide opportunities for the next generation of creative talent.
Bespoke business support for Cornish based creative companies.
Screen business, skills and location support.
